Katy Smit

Graduate Project Officer

5.30 AM

I wake up, wash my face and go to the kitchen to make an instant coffee. I then like to do some exercise – I usually go for a run or do some yoga. After that, I take my dogs for a walk down to the local park or the river so they can run around.

Dogs on a walk

6.30 AM

I have a quick shower, busting out some tunes, put my work clothes on then do my make up while listening to a podcast.

7.00 AM

I eat some breakfast (usually PB on toast), while drinking another coffee! Then I make my lunch for the day and brush my teeth.

7.30 AM

I head out the door and walk to the train station which is about 10 minutes from my house. It takes an hour from Fremantle to Midland station. To pass the time, I usually read or watch some Netflix on my phone. I sometimes drive to work but taking the train isn’t too much longer and I can use my time effectively, rather than focusing on driving.

8.40 AM

I arrive at Midland station and walk to Landgate (about 10 minutes).

8.50 AM

When I finally arrive at Landgate I take the stairs up to level 2 where the property valuation teams sit. Out of breath, I say my good mornings and log into my computer. Straight away I check my calendar to see what my schedule is like for the day and then my emails to see any updates regarding meetings, projects, daily tasks and to see if there has been any current key information sent out by other Landgate staff.

A young professional walking towards the office

9.00 AM

I put my lunch in the fridge and make my third coffee for the morning in the tea-room.

9.10 AM

Currently my rotation is in Valuation and Property Analytics (VPA) sector of Landgate. I am 2 months into a 6-month rotation. Here I am working in the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) valuation team. There are many aspects to this role. One of the jobs we do is determining who is responsible for paying the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) and to ensure the Valuation database (ValSys) is accurate when ownership/responsibility changes. The ESL is calculated by applying a rate in the dollar to the Gross Rental Value (GRV) as determined by Landgate. This levy is used to help finance the operations for services such as Fire and Rescue services and state and emergency (SES) units.

I am working on a few of projects. Currently I am assisting in the verification and valuation of local government owned properties, this involves working out how the property may have changed over the years, for example if there has been demolitions or extensions etc. and from there on calculating and updated the GRV for the property.

A young professional at her work station.

12.30 PM

I take my lunch break. Usually I make lunch at home and bring it to work, but occasionally purchase lunch from the multiple options in the area. I often eat in the outdoor sitting area with the other graduates. I usually take between 20 to 30 minutes for lunch.

Colleagues having lunch

1.00 PM

I begin working on another project which involves checking the ownership status for properties which are either being sold from or bought by government trading enterprises such as Landcorp. I then need to update the new owner in the valuation database and determine who the property will be rated by.

2.30 PM

Today the other graduates and I have an innovation meeting in a room we booked. Over the past month we have been having these meetings weekly to discuss ways in which we can bring innovative ideas to Landgate. We are currently in the midst of creating our own little project involving the ways in which we can engage with different areas of the business and meet new people as grads. We have a lot of fun!

A young professional doing a presentation

3.30 PM

I go back to my desk and start work on another project I have in VPA. This involves assisting the rural team in Business Support with work they need to get done. For this project I go through a list of Local Governments in the rural areas of Western Australia and log the sales which have occurred over the past 6 months into the valuation database. This mainly involves changing the names of the rate payers and creating new groups of land parcels.

5.00 PM

It’s now home time. I save my work, close my running applications and shut down my computer. I say goodbye to my team members and walk towards the train station. I have dinner almost as soon as I get home, then have a shower and lay in my bed and watch some series I am binging and have a good night’s sleep so I am ready for the next day.